WWF
WWF
Jul 28, 2017 · 1 min read

Hi,

Great questions!

In the Mekong we are still focusing more on avoidance, but we are starting to think about restoration. It is very challenging because the scale of the problem makes it difficult to restore both fish migration and sediment transited. In addition, all rivers are different so we need to be cautious about ‘template’ solutions.

For distributed hydro, siting is key, and many small project are not necessarily better than one large project. Tools exist to optimise siting and one large project in the right place in the basin may be good option. But in the case of the Mekong, dams on the main stem of the river are not a good option. We also need to look at innovative ways of doing hydro (e.g. Takho project in southern Laos) and/or alternatives to hydro (WWF produced a power sector vision for each of the Lower Mekong countries with concrete & financially viable alternatives to hydro).

Low/no oxygen in reservoirs is very true for large reservoirs but less of an issue for so called run-off river dams. Carbon credit financial mechanisms have been explored.

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